|
|
 |
100 Amazing Earth Facts |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
W |
e live on a sphere of
extremes and oddities. In
fact it's not really a
sphere, but it is a wild
planet, mottled with deadly
volcanoes, rattled by killer
earthquakes, drenched in
disastrous deluges. But do
you know which were the
worst?
Some of Earth's valleys dip
below sea level. Mountains
soar into thin air. Can you
name the lowest spot? The
tallest peak? Do you know
how far it is to the center
of the planet or what's
there?
Where are the planet's
hottest, coldest, driest and
windiest places?
The following list of
Earth's extremes and other
amazing facts is presented
in Q&A format, so you can
cover the answers to test
your knowledge of the home
planet. Sources include the
U.S. Geological Survey and
the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration,
with other SPACE.com
reporting. |
|
 |
1.
What is the
hottest place on
Earth? |
 |
|
|
Count one wrong if you
guessed Death Valley in
California. True enough on
many days. But El Azizia in
Libya recorded a temperature
of 136 degrees Fahrenheit
(57.8 Celsius) on Sept. 13,
1922 -- the hottest ever
measured. In Death Valley,
it got up to 134 Fahrenheit
on July 10, 1913. |
|
|
2.
And the
coldest place
around here? |
|
|
|
Far and away, the coldest
temperature ever measured on
Earth was -129 Fahrenheit
(-89 Celsius) at
Vostok,
Antarctica, on July 21,
1983. |
|
|
3.
What makes
thunder? |
|
|
 If you thought, "Lightning!"
then hats off to you. But I
had a more illuminating
answer in mind. The air
around a
lightning bolt is
superheated to about five
times the temperature of the
Sun.
This sudden heating causes
the air to expand faster
than the speed of sound,
which compresses the air and
forms a shock wave; we hear
it as thunder. |
|
|
4.
Can rocks
float? |
|
|
|
In a
volcanic eruption,
the violent separation of
gas from lava produces a
"frothy" rock called pumice,
loaded with gas bubbles.
Some of it can float,
geologists say. I've never
seen this happen, and I'm
thankful for that. |
|
|
5.
Can rocks
grow? |
|
|
|
Yes, but observing the
process is less interesting
than watching paint dry.
Rocks called iron-manganese
crusts grow on mountains
under the sea. The crusts
precipitate material slowly
from seawater, growing about
1 millimeter every million
years. Your fingernails grow
about the same amount every
two weeks. |
|
|
6. How much
space dust falls
to Earth each
year? |
|
|
 Estimates vary, but the USGS
says at least 1,000 million
grams, or roughly 1,000 tons
of material enters the
atmosphere every year and
makes its way to Earths
surface. One group of
scientists claims microbes
rain down from space, too,
and that extraterrestrial
organisms are
responsible for flu
epidemics.
There's been no proof of
this, and I'm not holding my
breath. |
|
|
7. How far
does regular
dust blow in the
wind? |
|
|
|
A 1999 study showed that
African dust finds its way
to Florida and can help push
parts of the state over the
prescribed air quality limit
for particulate matter set
by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency. The dust
is kicked up by high winds
in North Africa and carried
as high as 20,000 feet
(6,100 meters), where it's
caught up in the trade winds
and carried across the sea.
Dust
from China makes its way to North
America, too. |
|
|
8. Where is
the worlds
highest
waterfall? |
|
|
|
The water of Angel Falls in
Venezuela drops 3,212 feet
(979 meters). |
|
|
9. What two
great American
cities are
destined to
merge? |
|
|
|
The San Andreas fault, which
runs north-south, is
slipping at a rate of about
2 inches (5 centimeters) per
year, causing Los Angeles to
move towards San Francisco.
Scientists forecast LA will
be a suburb of the City by
the Bay in about 15 million
years. |
|
|
10. What
would a
100-pound person
weigh on Mars? |
|
|
|
The gravity on Mars is 38
percent of that found on
Earth at sea level. So a
100-pound person on Earth
would weigh 38 pounds on
Mars. Based on NASA's
present plans, it'll be
decades before this
assumption can be
observationally proved,
however. |
|
|
11. How long
is a Martian
year? |
|
|
|
It's a year long, if you're
from Mars. To an earthling,
it's nearly twice as long.
The red planet takes 687
Earth-days to go around the
Sun -- compared to 365 days
for Earth. Taking into
account Mars' different
rotational time (see #13
below) calendars on Mars
would be about 670 days long
with some leap days needed
to keep things square. If
you find one, please mail it
to me. I'm curious how they
worked out the months, given
they have two moons. |
|
|
12. How long
is the average
Martian day? |
|
|
|
A Martian can sleep (or
work) and extra half-hour
every day compared to you.
Mars days are 24 hours and
37 minutes long, compared to
23 hours, 56 minutes on
Earth. A day on any planet
in our solar system is
determined by how long it
takes the world to spin once
on its axis, making the Sun
appear to rise in the
morning and sending it down
in the evening. |
|
|
13. What is
the largest
volcano? |
|
|
 The Mauna Loa volcano in
Hawaii holds the title here
on Earth. It rises more than
50,000 feet (9.5 miles or
15.2 kilometers) above its
base, which sits under the
surface of the sea. But
that's all volcanic chump
change. Olympus Mons on Mars
rises 16 miles (26
kilometers) into the Martian
sky. Its base would almost
cover the entire state of
Arizona. |
|
|
14. What was
the deadliest
known
earthquake? |
|
|
|
The world's deadliest
recorded earthquake occurred
in 1557 in central China. It
struck a region where most
people lived in caves carved
from soft rock. The
dwellings collapsed, killing
an estimated 830,000 people.
In 1976 another deadly
temblor struck Tangshan,
China. More than 250,000
people were killed. |
|
|
15. What was
the strongest
earthquake in
recent times? |
|
|
|
A 1960 Chilean earthquake,
which occurred off the
coast, had a magnitude of
9.6 and broke a fault more
than 1,000 miles (1,600
kilometers) long. An
earthquake like that under a
major city would challenge
the best construction
techniques. |
|
|
16. Which
earthquake was
more
catastrophic:
Kobe, Japan or
Northridge,
California? |
|
|
|
The 1994 Northridge
earthquake had a magnitude
of 6.7 was responsible for
approximately 60 deaths,
9,000 injuries, and more
than $40 billion in damage.
The Kobe earthquake of 1995
was magnitude 6.8 and killed
5,530 people. There were
some 37,000 injuries and
more than $100 billion in
economic loss. |
|
|
17. How far
is it to the
center of the
Earth? |
|
|
 The distance from the
surface of Earth to the
center is about 3,963 miles
(6,378 kilometers). Much of
Earth is fluid. The mostly
solid skin of the planet is
only 41 miles (66
kilometers) thick -- thinner
than the skin of an apple,
relatively speaking. |
|
|
18. What is
the highest
mountain? |
|
|
|
Climbers who brave Mt.
Everest in the Nepal-Tibet
section of the Himalayas
reach 29,035 feet (nearly 9
kilometers) above sea level.
Its height was revised
upward by 7 feet based on
measurements made in 1999
using the satellite-based
Global Positioning System. |
|
|
19.
Has the Moon
always been so
close? |
|
|
|
It used to be much closer! A
billion years ago, the Moon
was in a tighter orbit,
taking just 20 days to go
around us and make a month.
A day on Earth back then was
only 18 hours long. The Moon
is still moving away --
about 1.6 inches (4
centimeters) a year.
Meanwhile, Earth's rotation
is slowing down, lengthening
our days. In the distant
future, a day will be 960
hours long! [Find
out why] |
|
|
20. Where is
the lowest dry
point on Earth? |
|
|
|
The shore of the Dead Sea in
the Middle East is about
1,300 feet (400 meters)
below sea level. Not
even a close second is Bad
Water in Death Valley,
California, at a mere 282
feet below sea level. |
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
